


Chemistry

by graceolina37



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Getting Together, Julie and the Himbos, M/M, its all works out in the end, theres some kissing too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27098359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceolina37/pseuds/graceolina37
Summary: connected like its destinyyou and I have chemistryorLuke write a song, finally tells Reggie how he feels, and puts the pieces back together when things don't go as planned.
Relationships: Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 275





	1. Chapter 1

“This is pretty romantic,” Reggie said smirking, “Is it for Julie?”  
  
“For the last time it's not gonna work out with Julie,” Luke was irritated at this point, “and the song isn't for her. Just like the last one wasn't either.”  
  
Luke had just finished showing the guys the beginnings of a new song he was working on, and even though he and Julie had agreed weeks ago that they were going to stay friends Reggie kept insisting that he still had feelings for her. Luke and Julie were in perfect sync when they were on stage, and the music they were able to make together was amazing, but they had agreed that anything more than that wouldn't be fair to either of them on account of Luke being, well, dead.  
  
Overall, their spark had never developed into anything more, and Luke was okay with that. Especially since he had realized that maybe Julie wasn't the only person that he had a connection with. He’d had a lot of time to think about his feelings lately, and he had started coming to terms with the fact he had always had something special with someone else. Looking back, he could see his crush embedded into a lot of the songs he had written, just like it was as of recently. However, even though he had hope, this crush hasn't developed into anything more than that either, since that someone really could not take a hint.  
  
“I don't know, ‘Dark Brown Hair’ really seemed like it was about Julie.”  
  
Alex put his head in his hands while all Luke could do was gape at Reggie. How could he be so oblivious? Luke stood with his eyes wide, waiting for something to click in Reggies brain and make him finally understand.  
  
“So it's really not about Julie?” Reggie asked after a moment where no one said anything.  
  
“No,” Luke sighed, some of his frustration easing away now that his bandmate was finally getting closer to understanding what was going on.  
  
“Whatever you say man,” Reggie said, but immediately turned to wink at Alex, signaling that he didn't believe a word of what Luke was saying. He was trying to get Alex to agree with him, but the blonde boy just shook his head, trying to silently tell Reggie that he was wrong.  
  
When Luke saw this, his frustration returned all over again.  
  
“For the last time Reginald, the song is not about Julie,” Luke said, punctuating each word in hopes that they would stick this time.  
  
“Fine!,” Reggie put is hands up, “It's about someone though.” When Luke didn't answer, Reggie just kept babbling away  
  
“Come on, it's definitely a love song. And I can tell this one isn't about your mom,” Reggie said, “Oh! Did you finally meet a cute ghost girl?”  
  
“Reggie…” Luke started, feeling too defeated to know what to say next.  
  
“Okay,” Alex said. Insightful as ever, had figured out a while ago what was going on even though Luke had never told him. Now, stood abruptly and said, “I can't watch this anymore. You two figure this out, and I'll see you for rehearsal later.”  
  
“Good luck,” he said to Luke right before he poofed out.  
  
“What's his deal?” Reggie asked, the confusion clear on his face, “Wait,” he said with something that seemed like clarity in his voice, “do you think there was something special in the brownies Julie made?” He emphasized the word “special”.  
  
“Reggie, we didn't eat the brownies. Were ghosts.” Luke explained, but he was unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He knew he was about to reach is breaking point.  
  
“Oh yeah,” Reggie said in return, and digressing once again he added “I really wish we could eat.”  
  
“God, Reggie, you’re so stupid!” he yelled. The words came out of his mouth so fast, and once they did he instantly regretted them.  
  
Luke watched helplessly as Reggie flinched at the raised voice he couldn't take back. He saw the other boys shoulders slump and his head turn towards the floor, the carefree smile that he usually wore was gone and all Luke could think about was how he could get it back.  
  
“Reg, I didn't mean…” Luke started and then trailed off, not knowing how he was supposed to fix this.  
  
Reggie turned and went to go sit down on the couch, still looking a little stunned by what his friend had just said. Luke rushed across the room to go sit next to him.  
  
“Reggie…”  
  
Luke had never seen Reggie this upset before except for maybe during one of his parents really bad fights. He wasn't one for this kind of transparency with his emotions and it was both freaking Luke out and breaking his heart to see him like this. He wanted to pull Reggie in for a hug and never let him go. However, he settled for putting a hand on Reggie's leg and grabbing his hand with the other one as he started to explain how he felt the only way he knew how.  
  
_connected like its destiny  
you and I have chemistry _  
  
He sang the the what he had been singing at the beginning of rehearsal, but even after presenting the lyrics again Reggie still didn't fully understand, but Luke was determined to do what he asked and tell him, even if it was hard to say it outright.  
  
“Who's the one person that I've always had chemistry with on stage?” Luke tried to make it more obvious.  
  
“Alex?” Reggie tried, and Luke realized that he shouldn't have posed the question at all.  
  
“Reggie, I didn't write the song for Julie or for some random ghost girl,” Luke said, “I wrote it for you.”  
  
Reggie didn't say anything at first and Luke could practically see him finally putting everything together in his head. He got so lost in watching Reggie that he forgot he was supposed to be nervous about sharing his feelings.  
  
“You wrote it for me,” Reggie spoke at last.  
  
“Yeah,” Luke said back. He was glad everything was finally out on the table, but now that it was he was worried about how Reggie would react. He had never planned on telling his friend that the feelings he had for him went beyond that, but he was just so tired of Reggie thinking that he still liked Julie.  
  
“That's a love song, Luke. And you like girls,” Reggie said, “I like girls, I-”  
  
“I like you too,” Luke interrupted, but Reggie's statement made him lose confidence in his confession. He let go of Reggie's hand and moved away, “But if you don't feel the same way you can just say so.”  
  
Reggie seemed to be frozen, unsure of what to say next. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  
  
“Reggie?” Luke asked, hoping for something, anything, from the other boy that would indicate he liked he back, but after a moment he figured that the science had said that he didn't plain enough. When Reggie didn't answer, Luke stood up and took one last glance down at where his bandmate was still sitting down and stunned. Before he could poof out, however, Reggie finally spoke up.  
  
“Luke, I-'' Reggie started and Luke looked at him expectantly, but he couldn't get anything else out. He had no idea what to say to get him to to stay or to understand how he felt.  
  
“I-” Reggie tried again, but it was too late.  
  
“Whatever, Reggie,” Luke said, and then he was gone.__


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _connected like its destiny  
>  you and I have chemistry ___  
> or  
>  Luke write a song, finally tells Reggie how he feels, and puts the pieces back together when things don't go as planned.

“He’s right, Ray,” Reggie rambled to the oblivious man working at the kitchen counter, “I’m so, so stupid.”  
  
Reggie had sat in the garage for quite a while after Luke had left him there, half expecting that Luke would turn around and come back, and half because he was still in shock. Luke had told him he liked him, and he was elated, but also confused. He had always had a little bit of a crush on Luke, because how could he not? Luke was hot, of course, and he couldn't deny that the tension they shared on stage went beyond something that friends shared.  
  
Reggie liked girls a lot too. Like, a lot a lot. But he couldn't even begin to count the amount of times he thought about how close his lips were to Luke's when they were sharing a mic. It had always seemed like closing that space between them would be the easiest thing in the world. For a long time he thought that the fire that was between them was only ignited by the adrenaline of a show, but after a while Reggie started to notice little things that made him realize it went beyond that. The way his face got really warm every time Luke would casually change his shirt in front of him, or the way his heart jumped when Luke would sing something new while they were alone together because it felt like Luke was singing just to him.  
  
Reggie had always known how he felt when he was around the other boy, but he had never been able to put it all together until now. He had never thought of a relationship with Luke as something he could have, since they were both supposed to be straight. And even if Luke wasn’t straight, how was he ever supposed to guess that he wanted him of all people? He had said it himself that he thought Reggie was stupid, and yeah, even without the confusion of romantic feelings mixed up in their friendship, that one definitely hurt. Luke had never said anything like that to him before, let alone yelled it, and it really didn't help him process the reality of his friend's confession any faster. There was so much going on that it had left him frozen, but he still wishes that he would have stopped Luke from going so fast.  
  
“How could I just let him walk away like that without telling him how I felt?” He asked, “what if it's too late now, and I missed my chance?”  
  
“I know I mess things up a lot,” he continued, “the guys think I don't know that, but I do.”  
  
“And I know that I don't get everything they say right away. But they don’t understand that if they just told me what they meant I would understand. I can't read minds, Ray.”  
  
Immediately after saying that, Reggie had to stop and consider if that was actually true. What if it's some cool ghost power, and I can see what other people are thinking, he thought. He tried practicing on Ray, but ultimately failed.  
  
“I guess I've been dead long enough to know whether or not I can read minds in the afterlife,” he resided. Reggie remained quiet for a moment as he thought. Who knew he would have just as much to worry about after he had died as when he was living.  
  
“What am I gonna do?” He wished that Ray could answer him, thinking that any sort of advice could do him some good right about now. When Julie walked through the front door right after he thought that, Reggie wondered if he might have some sort of manifestation ability. He would have to think about that another time though.  
  
Julie was used to seeing Reggie hang out in the kitchen, and went about greeting her dad as normal. When she went upstairs to her room to put her things down, Reggie followed her, hoping that she might be able to help him. As soon as the door was shut behind her, Julie turned to question the ghost.  
  
“What's wrong?” she asked, at the same time Reggie asked “How was school?”  
  
“Reggie,” she said somewhat sternly, not wanting to waste time in getting to the bottom of what was going on with her friend.  
  
“Fine, okay!” he said, “I need some advice, I think. I guess I'm not exactly sure.”  
  
“Did something happen?” Julie asked.  
  
“I mean, yeah, and I just wanted to talk to you about it because,” Reggie's voice got higher as he talked, and Julie could clearly see that he was flustered, “well, because your a girl, and girls know all about boy problems-”  
  
“Boy problems?!” Julie interrupted, but was quick to restate her shock when the hand Reggie was running through his hair froze and his eyes went wide.  
“It's totally okay!” she rushed to say, “It's great that you're letting yourself be open with who you like! That is what you mean, right? You do have a crush on a boy, this isn't just about Luke or something?  
  
Reggie covered his face and dramatically fell back on Julie's bed. She went to sit on the edge next to him, too caught up in Reggie's distress to remind him of boundaries.  
  
“I'll take that as a yes?” She started cautiously. When Reggie only answered her with a nod of his head she continued.  
  
“Listen, you know I’m always happy to help you, but the guys know you way better than I do,” she said, “Why don't you want them to help you? Alex has experience with this kind of thing, and I know Luke wouldn't judge you either if you talked to him about it.”  
  
“I cant talk to Luke,” Reggie said. He finally uncovered his face, and in a moment of bravery told Julie the truth in a loud whisper like it was a secret, even though he knew nobody else could hear him, “He's the boy.”  
  
“What? I thought this wasn't a friend thing. I thought you had a crush on--” Reggie watched as all the pieces clicked together, “Oh.”  
  
“That-” Julie considered, “actually makes a lot of sense.”  
  
After a moment the idea had fully sunk in, and when Reggie didn't say anything, she started to question him more.  
  
“Do you think he feels the same way?” She asked. Reggie took a deep breath and sighed out before he jumped into the story of what had happened that afternoon.  
  
“Luke told me that he liked me today,” he started, and Julie seemed to not be surprised by this at all, “Well, first he told me I was stupid for not just knowing that he liked me, and then he sang to me, which was really sweet. But then I froze and he left before I could even tell him anything.”  
  
“I don't know what to do now,” Reggie said after everything was all out in the open.  
  
“You just need to talk to him, Reg,” She answered.  
  
“What if it's too late?”  
  
“He put you on the spot,” Julie said, “I’m sure he’ll understand that you needed some time to process everything after you tell him.”  
  
“You think?” Reggie asked, finally sitting up and situating himself so he was next to Julie.  
  
“Of course,” Julie said, “I don't need to tell you that he's a good guy, you know that already. And when I think back to the way I've caught him looking at you before, I'm sure that he really, really likes you,” she continued, “too much to let you go that easily when you feel the same way.”  
  
“Thank you,” Reggie said.  
  
“Anytime,” Julie said back, “It's all going to work out.”  
  
Reggie could only hope it would as he started to plan what he was going to do next.


	3. Chapter 3

When Luke poofed out the garage, he didn't know exactly where he wanted to go. It was lucky that he ended up on the beach, standing next to the only person who could help him out in the situation he had gotten himself into. That, and he could really use a friend to comfort him right now. Especially since he may have messed things up with his other best friend. 

He knew that he and Reggie would still be friends--they were a family no matter what. But he really wished that the other boy had felt the same way. And right now, he just needed someone to tell him that everything would be okay. 

“What are you doing here?” Alex asked, confused and slightly angry. So much for the comfort that Luke was hoping for, “You're supposed to be with Reggie.”

Luke didn't say anything back, but the look on his face told the other boy everything he needed to know. Alex just rolled his eyes.

“Please don't tell me you guys didn't even talk at all,” Alex said, “The whole dancing around your feeling for each other thing is getting very old. Especially since Reggie refuses to see all the signs that you like him back.”

“He doesn't like me,” Luke spoke up, not too surprised that Alex knew how he felt about their bandmate, “Not in that way. We talked, and I told him about the song and he doesn't feel the same way.”

“Really?” Alex was surprised. Reggie was even more obvious about his crush than Luke was, and there was no way that he didn't share Luke's feelings “He told you that?”

“Well… not exactly,” Luke said after a moment, “He said something about how I liked girls, and then he didn't say anything at all.”

“So he didn't actually turn you down?” Alex asked and Luke shook his head. 

“Luke,” Alex sighed and shook his head, “He liked you, trust me.”

“How do you know?” Luke asked.

“Because he looks at you the same way you look at him,” Alex said with a small smile replacing the annoyance on his face, “You guys really do have chemistry. But it's more than that too, isn't it?” Luke nodded his head.

“You're both just being too stupid to realize its something you both want” Luke cringed as the words left Alex’s mouth, remembering the full extent of what he said to Reggie back in the garage. 

“About that…” Luke started, and Alex looked, “Earlier, right after you left and before I told Reggie, I may have accidentally yelled at him.”

“What did you do?” Alex asked in a warning tone.

“I called him stupid,” Luke winced.

“Idiot,” Alex said, shaking his head and turning on his heel away from Luke to pace back and forth, “Why would you say that? You know he's… he's sensitive.”

“I know!” Luke rushed to explain, “I know it was bad, and you have no idea how terrible I feel, but it just came out. And I tried to fix it by telling him that I lo-” Luke cut himself off, realizing that he didn't ever actually say those words to Reggie, “-how I feel, but he didn't say anything.”

“Maybe he didn't say anything because he was overwhelmed,” Alex said, finally stopping his model walk to confront his friend, “Have you ever even stopped to think about why Reggie never got the hint?”  
After their confrontation earlier, Luke thought maybe it was because Reggie didn't like him and so he didn't want to see, but before he could say anything Alex had already jumped to explain it for him.  
“He doesn't think he's good enough for you,” Alex said, and it broke Luke's heart to think that he may be right, “He didn't believe that you’d ever want him back, and so when he found out that you did he might not have known exactly what to say. And you yelling at him probably didn't help.”

“I messed up, Alex,” Luke said with regret in his voice, “I did this all wrong.”

“Yeah,” Alex said back, “But you can still fix it.”

He was right. Luke knew he could fix all of this, he just had to find the right words this time around.


	4. Chapter 4

When Luke finally left the beach and poofed back into the garage, he was half expecting to see Reggie in the same place he had left him-shocked into science on the couch. But the room was empty when Luke returned, which was both disappointing since he wanted to see the other boy right away, and a relief because he had at least a little more time before they had to talk, which was probably a good thing since Luke really didn't know what he was going to say. All he knew was that he couldn't stand the thought that Reggie still felt bad or was mad at him, and he just wanted everything to be better. He figured that as long as he had the right intentions, the words would come to him. That's how it had always worked for him.

Luke left the garage and went to the front of the house, thinking that Reggie might be in there or at least Julie might know where he went. However, as he walked up to the door, it opened before he could walk through it. He was relieved to see Julie as she walked outside and he started to talk to her until he saw someone else come out the door behind her.

As soon as he saw Reggie Luke's heart jumped, both with worry and as a natural reaction when he saw the boy he liked. Reggie stopped in his tracks too, and Luke wished he could tell what the other boy was thinking. Even though their little conflict hadn't lasted more than an hour, Luke just wanted his best friend back. 

“I’m just gonna let you two… yeah” Julie said before turning to go back inside. Luke was too focused on Reggie to think about how Julie must know something about what's going on and what that meant. Once she was gone, though, he realized that he and Reggie were alone and he finally spoke up.

“Reg, I-” Luke started, “Can we just talk?” he asked.

Reggie nodded and walked closer to his friend. Luke was surprised when he felt Reggie's hand slip into his own, but he twined their fingers together nonetheless so Reggie could poof them back into the garage together. When they reached their destination, neither of them let go. So there they were, holding hands in the middle of the room, both of them wanting to say a million things to the other, but not quite knowing how. Usually talking was so easy for them, but for some reason this was harder. 

Reggie was looking at the ground, and after what Alex said earlier Luke knew that he was going to have to start the conversation. He was the one who had put them in this position, anyway.

Luke brought his free hand to Reggie's face, gently touching his chin and angling it so he would have no choice but to meet his own eyes.

“Reggie, I’m so sorry,” Luke said. Reggie looked taken aback by the words, surprised that it was Luke who was apologizing.

“Wait, you're sorry?” Reggie asked, “Why are you sorry, I’m the one that's stu-”  
“Stop!” Luke interrupted. Reggie's eyebrows went up in surprise but he went quiet nonetheless.  
“I'm so sorry that I said you were-,” Luke started, but couldn't bear to say the word to his friends face again, “That I said what I said, because you're amazing. You're talented, and so funny and I like you so much that I don't even know what to do with myself.”  
“And I’m sorry that I sprung that on you today,” He continued, “I know that it probably wasn't the right time and I didn't give you any time to really think about it before I just left, but you have to believe me. I really, really like you, Reg.”  
“I like you too,” Reggie said immediately, not even having to consider it this time.  
“You do?” Luke asked, and happiness could be heard in his voice.  
Reggie nodded, a smile on his face that matched Luke's, “I have for awhile I guess.”  
“Me too,” Luke said back, and then they were both laughing a little, glad that the tension was gone and that everything was finally out in the open.  
“Can I kiss you?” Luke asked, ever the more forward of the two of them.  
“Yeah,” Reggie said, sounding both relieved and eager, and maybe even a little bit nervous. But before he could think about it too much, their lips were pressed together and everything else left his mind except for the sensation of being so close to Luke. It just felt so right. Like everything they had gone through had been worth it just to get to this.  
The kiss started soft, but ended up lasting longer than either of them intended. Finally, they pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other, catching their breath and smiling like they were on top of the world.  
“Now that was pretty hot,” Luke said, and Reggie couldn't help but laugh, thinking back to an encounter a few months ago that he felt had a hand in pushing them towards this moment.  
“Tell me about it,” Reggie said back. And suddenly, it all made sense. _Chemistry. _He thought back to that same day and couldn't believe he didn't notice the song Luke was writing, the one that had ended them up here, was about him.. He would have to talk to Luke about it later. Even though they technically had eternity, neither of them wanted to waste any more time. especially since their friends would probably be getting bored soon and coming in to interrupt them with some excuse or another. For now, they were content to just be with each other. Reggie melted into Luke's touch as the other boy joined their lips once again, and they were so lost in each other that they didn't even notice Alex and Julie come in for rehearsal, smiling at each other before leaving to let the other two be. Everything was finally exactly how it was meant to be.__


End file.
